Osage City remains limited to only property owners Sunday until power is restored

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Communities are still recovering Sunday from stronger-than-expected storms Saturday afternoon that left downed power lines and trees across Mid-Missouri.

Osage City closed routes into the city to nonresidents Saturday night because of damage. In a press release sent out that night, the Cole County Emergency Services Chief Eric Hoy said the city would reopen during the day Sunday. However, a social media post from the agency Sunday included a minor change of plans.

"All public roadways are open. However, access to Osage City continues to be limited to property owners until power is restored," the post reads.

According to the release, the power grid continues to stabilize, but it's unclear when power will be fully restored because of the widespread outages.

ABC 17 News has reached out to Ameren for an update on restoration progress. In the meantime, a message on the power company's website said work is extensive, and it could take until Tuesday for power to be back on for the majority of the state.

"Given the extent of the damage, restoration in Missouri will take multiple days," Ameren said on its power outage map. "Every available crew, including mutual assistance crews from other utilities, is focused on restoring service safely and as quickly as possible."

As of Sunday afternoon, Ameren reports over 22,500 people are out of service. The largest area being affected is down by the Lake of the Ozarks and near Jefferson City.

The Jefferson City Correctional Center was temporarily running on generator power Saturday afternoon following the storm, spokesperson Karen Pojmann told ABC 17 News in a text. Power was fully restored to the facility around 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Check back for updates.